Blues' Vladimir Tarasenko: Cold in conference finals

Tarasenko has been shut down by the Sharks in the Western Conference Finals. The winger, who led the Blues with 40 goals and 74 points in the regular season, misfired on 10 shot attempts through the first three games of the series.

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Blues coach Ken Hitchock spoke about Tarasenko's struggles after his team suffered a 3-0 loss in Game 3 on Thursday. "The thing that could help him, we can't give him, which is more experience," Hitchcock said. "He's learning hard lessons, like any young player. Robby's (Fabbri) learning it. (Colton) Parayko is learning it. Vladi is learning some really hard lessons." Tarasenko has been in the league for at least parts of four seasons, and he doesn't know what it's like to have missed out on the postseason in the NHL. Still, he's not immune to growing pains, having played in less than 300 total games between the regular season and playoffs since joining the league in 2012-13.